Noncollapsible vehicle top



Dec. 8, 1925. 1,564,650

E. H. wADswoRTH N ONCOLLAPSIBLE VEHICLE TOPv Filed Feb. v. 1924 2 sheets-sheet 2 A TTORNEY.`

Patented Een. 8, i925.

UNEF. STATES PATET OFFICE.

EARL H. WADSl/VORTI-I, OF OOR'ILAND, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOB TO THE BREWER- TI'L'CHENER COR'EORATION, 0F CORTLAND, NEW YORK, A. CORPORATION OF N'IEWl YORK.

NONCOLLAPSIBLE VEHCLE TOP.

Application led February 7, 1924.

To @ZZ whom it may concern.'

Be it known that l, EARL H. Wanswonrn,

a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Cortland, in the county of Cortland u and the State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Noncollapsible Vehicle Tops, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a novel light but y exceptionally rigid frame structure for vehicle tops, and pertains particularly to noncollapsible or so-called permanent open tops having removable side curtains or window panels adapted to conveniently change the '5 open top into an enclosed winter top structure for the vehicle body,

A. feature of the present frame structure resides in an improved construction for the pair of complementary side rails therefor, and in the type of fastening joints provided for bridging these rails with transverse bows. A further important feature lies in the use of a metal jamb strip run ning lengthwise of and overlapping the lower inner face of the complementary side rails to constitute an abutting strip against which to set the upper edge of the window panel. Furthermore, certain portions of such continuous jamb strips are offset from 3f) the rail face to form a series of spaced sockets, or stake pockets, adapted to receive the bow clips that entend beyond the leg ends of my transverse bows.

Each of my side rails is preferably made up in sections of substantially similar cross sectional profile that abut end to end, and these sections are suitably attached to a continuous jamb strip, which strip also serves as a connecting member for the adjacent rail ends. The side rails, as well as the transverse bows which bridge the rails, are made of tubular form adapted to metal encase wood filler blocks. Each filler block is exposed through a longitudinal slot in the metal sheath and this allows of tacking the deck fabric to any part of the top frame structure.

lt is the further object of this invention to incorporate improved bracing means for tying the associated top parts together. Suitable means have also been devised for readily and cheaply assembling the top part-s on the vehicle body, and for compactiy storing and shipping the unassembled top parts while in transit.

fie

Serial No. 691,201.

Embodied herein are also other features of structure and arrangement of parts designed to facilitate the economical manufacture of permanent tops and their application to vehicle bodies, all of which will be set forth in detail hereinafter.

Reference is had to the accompanying two sheets of drawings which illustrate an example of the preferred form of my invention, like characters of reference indicate like parts in the several views, and in which drawing:

Fig. l represents an elevational view taken in section lengthwise of my top structure and showing its points of attachment to a vehicle body.

Fig. la. shows a detail of a link method of fastening the lower end of the main bow standard to the pivot iron.

Fig. 1b, is a sectional view of this detail as taken along the line 1a-lb of Fig. la.

Fig. 2, shows a half plan or bottom view of Fig. l as seen from the underside of the deck fabric.

Fig. 3, illustrates the constructive details of a transverse bow and its assemblage with the supporting side rail structure as taken along the line 3--3 of Fig. l.

Fig. 4f, is a similar view of said transverse bow partially contracted, as taken along line 4 4; of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5, is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the side rail and the jamb strip also taken along line 4 4 of Fig. l, showing details of the deck fabric trim and the method of abutting the window panel against saidv strip.

Fig. 6, represents a perspective view illustrating the clip fastening device used to tie the leg of the intermediate transverse bows to one of its supporting side rails.

Fig. 7, shows in perspective some further details of the bow receiving socket for mounting the rear bow; also the bracket plate for pivotally securing the upper end of the standard to the side rail structure.

Fig. 8, is a cross-sectional view of the transverse bow as taken on line SWS of Fig. 3

The illustrative embodiment of my invention comprises a pair of main bow standards such as l, having their respective lower ends mounted upon a pivot iron such as 2, which iron is secured to each side of the vehicle body 3 in the conventional manner.

:les shown in Figs. l(l and lb, the lower tulcruined end portion of the standard l is pro vided with a projecting flat link strap lc having a hole ld therein adapted to engage the pivot iron tulcruin while the shank portion lf of said strap extends bach into the end ol the-metal casing of the main bow and is riveted thereto by means ot the rivets lg. :is shown7 the i'iller blocllwhichisniouir l within said casing is suitably recesso i to ad nit of receiving the link shank if. ln my top structure, tl e main bow standard, as well as the other frame membersT are preferably made up ot sheet metal tubulzfr sheaths which are crimped over the edges ot a substantially rectangular or parallelofrani shaped wood ller block designated as These blocks ure pieter-ably exposed on one of their sides through a lone ulinal tacling slot 9a in a manner that wifi be more rully disclosed hereina` ter.

Each of said standads extends upward and rearward with respect to the horizontal top edge or body trim line il. and the upper free ends ot the respective stanzia are each provided with a slottedbow receiving` socket ti adapted to connect sai?. standards with the rear traiisverse bow fl. This bow is preferably made ot wood and as shown in Fig. l, the cover or deck fabric is stretched downward over the rounded edge ot said bow Llto align with the rear ot the body tonneau 3.

As is indicated in Fig. 7, the Upper end ot each standard is further equipped with an angular bracket plate 7, the depending leg 4 a ot which is 'fastened to the standard by means et the rivets 7d while the other leg 71, is pivotally secured and loclied to the rear ward section of the side rail 8H, all ot which will be more fully explained hereinafter. The side rail and the standard are of substantially similar cross-sectional contour and it is pointed ont that both these parts are mounted in alignment against the saine side ot bracket plate The side rail member of my top structure is preferably, but not necessarily, formed ot' .t metal in sectional lengths of substantially similar cross-sectional proiile, and as shown in Figs. l and 2, three such sections, namely 8a, 8b and Se, are set end to end so to align and constitute unitary side rail structure.

The particular cross-sectional shape ot said metal rail lengths is immaterial for present purposes. but it is preterred to utilise a hollow or incomplete tubular profile for the rail sections, and particularlyT one et essentially crimped channel shaped contour such shown in detail in g. 5. As illustratlD the si de rail is formed from a strip ot sheet metal bent into a channel shape about the reci angular wood filler block 9. rlhe legs of the channel are made somewhat temete longer than the side faces ot the liller so as to allow the sheet metal to be crimped over the iller corners and snugly encase the liller i er ot sheath therefor, while at the came time providing tor a longitudinal tacking slot 9a between the inner edges of said crimped legs. This slot faces outr-rardly with respect to the center line of the complementary side rails and it will be apparent that said taclring slot is so disposed to reduce the strength and rigidity ot the rail section to an imperceptible extent.

rlhe complementary side rails, each comprising the .sections Smb and 8C, entend torwardljv' from their respectire standards and over the body 25 in a substantially horizontal plane with respect to the Vtop edge or trini line 3a. Eat-h of these sectional ails is provided with a c' ntinuous janib strip l0, 'to which said abutting sections are suitably iastei'ierl'/ preferably by means ot rivets such 16a, :tending through the rectangular' 'de rail sections as is indicated in lfig. 5. fhe long tudinal metal strip l() is shown mounted along side ot the inner or closed lare cli the incomplete rectangular rail tubes 8Nk etc., that is to say opposite to the slot it the tiller sheath, and said trip is thus made te serve as a metallic tie means for the aligned rail sections. lt will be observed that the width ot the strip l0 is greater than the dimension of closed sheath wall against which it is riveted. The lower projectii'ig edge lOb depending troin the side rail is intended to serve as an abutting face against which to mount the sash l51 of the window panels 18.

las indicated in Figs. l and 2, the forward end of the side rails are bridged by means ot Vthe outrigger bow ll which lies in aligi'inient with the rail plane. The legs or said bow abut with the tree end of the respective side rail sections Se and the pair ot jamb strips l() extend l. eyoufl this joint and are 4ecurely fastened to the ssi'l leg ends by means of the rivets lla. rlhe outrigger bow i supported in the usual manner means ot he windshield stanchion l2.

g described side rail and amb srlp structure serves in the capacity ot back bone Ytor k1li-e Vtop 'traine7 and these rails r. re Vfurther br ed by a series oi intermediate transve i bows designated as i351? ih and 13... is shown in liig. S, these bows are also metal sheathed and provided with a wood iiiler in a manner identical with that used for the side rail struct!ire.,4 and the taclring srip likewise turned outward to face 'the deelt 'l' bric Ti. fin impor tant 'feature ot the invention resides in the novel means i'or fastening the leas ot the transpresen p rov i d tire complementary lamb cb ett'set "from the inner rail Lll.)

stake pockets such as 14a, 14h and le, as shown in Fig. 2.

These pockets are integrally formed as Hat shallow depressions or spaced troughs in the jamb strip l0, and for convenience in manufacture, these troughs are all Jformed parallel to each other and preferably perpendicular to the longitudinal edge ot said strip, as shown. Asindicated in Fig. 6, rivets such as are provided adjacent to cach side ot said trough i'or the purpose of securely tying saine to the rail sheath at this point.

'ihe bow clip l5 is attached to and extends beyond each ol the beveled ends ot the transverse bow legs, which oblique ends are intended to rest an(1 bear snugly against the ilat top tace oi the side rails. rlhis clip is provided with two parallel wings such as l5" which serve to Jforni a el-shaped sleeve partially surrounding the sides of the metal bow sheath, while the connecting web meinber el? the clip wings is secured to the leg end oi the transverse bow by means ot rivets such as a. rl`he clip is further provided with a depending male part 15C which is neatly iitted into the stake pocket, such as ifi@ and it will be observed that the center line ore said depending male part shifted out ot alignment with respect to the winged portion oi the clip proper to an extent of the angle designated as a. By placing such angular displacement in the bow clip 15 structure, allows all the stake pockets lea, leb etc., to be formed perpendicular to the longitudinal side rail as described, while transverse bows may nevertheless be set at different angles thereto so as still `to abut normally to the changing slope of the deck lino, as indicated in Fig. l.

frs shown in 5 and 6, the ol'set lla-t tace et said stake pockets are further provided with a perforated lip part llle which serves in; a .e'roove means tor engaging the tongue iSd iormed in the depending male member 15C. This tongue is intended to be ot sullicient length to give it resiliency and is made somewhat narrower' than the slot width ot said lip part 14e. The tongue 15d is initially sprung out oiz alignment with respect to the tace of the male part l5., to permit said tongue end to snap beneath said lip edge 11i, and snugly lock the tranverse bow when the latter is set in place. The resilient tongue also serves to take up any excess lateral play in the socket lit and laci f, .ttes the economical assemblage o'l' the 'traine structure. ritter the transverse bows are properly litted in place, the clip l5 may be permanently secured into its stake pocket by means oil rivets such as 10 indicated in lli'. f3.

lteerring in detail to the bow receiving :;o ket t, as provided i'or the upper portion el the main standard., this is preferably fashioned into a short sleeve section substantially identical in type ot' structure with slotted side rail sheath section shown in Fig. T. The closed iiat wall opposite the tacking slot of' the socket 6 is secured to the bracket plate 7 by means ot the rivets such as 6a. The leg ends of the rear transverse bow are then fitted into the pair or sockets such as 6 and suitably Jfastened therein so as to align with the standard i as indicated in Fig. l.

i i'urther constructive ieature oi this invention resides in the bracket plate 7 and the swivel method ot' fastening the staglard l to the side rail and jamb strip, which method is adapted to collapse this portion oi the top structure ior the purpose ot coinpactly stacking the demounted side rails in transport or storage. is shown in Fig. T, the horizontal leg 7b oi said plate is provided with two spaced holes 7c and 7d. The latter is equipped with a tulcrum pin extending inwardly through the side rail and its adjacent jamb strip, while the hole ZO is provided with a detachable bolt similarly extending through said parts. ln the event that said bolt is removed, the free end or" the standard may be swung about the iulcrum 7G and made to lie alongside the rail Sa in the manner indicated in Fig. l by dotted lines.

A further provision for locking the swivel joint and otherwise imparting increased stability and rigidity to the top structure when assembled upon the body, rcsides in the brace strap 1G. This strap crosses the standard 1 and is pinned thereto by the ulcrum pin 16a, while one of the strap ends is removably fastened to the rear side rail section 8a by means of the pin 161,. The other end of the strap is carried by a second pivot iron 2at which is set in spaced relation from the similar main standard iron 2, as is best shown in Fig. l. These parts may be sprung over their respective pivot` irons and locked in place. As further indi` cated in Fig. l by dotted lines, the brace strap 16 is also adapted to fold along side the rail 8a, and align with the main standard when it is desired to stack or store the unasseinbled top parts.

The brace straps impart proper longitudinal stability to the top structure without being dependent upon the windshield stanchions for such support. ln addition, the various transverse bows are tied together by means of the strainer webs 17a and also by the corner pad webs 17h, both of which run lengthwise of the body from the Outrigger bow to the rear bow, while vthe strainer webs extend downward and tie to the rear of the body tonneau 3. lt will be seen therefore that the entire top frame is exceptionally well braced within itsel and also with respect to the body, and that the `top body edge or trim line structure combines adequate longitudinal rigidity with the rerpiired inherent resiliency needed to properly absorb the inertia thrusts and other forces that may be due to road jolts or other cau; s

The assembled frame partel are covered with a deck -fabric 5 as indicated in the van ous views. By virtue the exposed tacl' strip for the wood liller as provided throughout this top structure, said fabric may readily and cheaply be fastened to any oi: the frame parts as required. if `hows in detail the preferred method of ti 1amine' the quarter deck 'abric to tbe side rail. The fabric edge underturned and wwe-d, whereupon it is tacked along' tbe side rail liller block at any desired pitch.

The improved mounting olE the window panels is best indicated in i and 5. As explained, the side rail is preferably made to lie parallel to the plane ol the shown in Fig. 2, the orvard or .i id iield ends oll the-complenientary side rails are bent inward toward each other so as to con'orifi to the plan lines oi"- the body contour. 'lliis dishing of the side rails allows the side window panels to be conveniently and neatly mounted between said parallel rails and the body trim line.

In addition to servingA as tie means for the rail sections, the depending! part iO-D of the `iainb strip l0 further provides as an abut`A` ting` face against which to mount the top edge of the window panels. As indicated in Fig. l, these side panels are preferably fashioned into sectional door and window sashes such as 18h, 18C and 18d, having` end pieces 18a and 18T acapted to square up the adjacent sash edges thereof. The upper and lower' edges of these panels may be secured in any convenient manner to the rail and body parts, respectively.

It will be obvious that the projecting strip part 10b shown as depending from 'the inner face of the side rail is not essential and may be discarded in case when it is not desired to use any side panel enclosures for the body. It will further be understood that said side rails need not necessarily be made sectional as shown and that the longitudinal tackiiigl slot 9 need not necessarily be a. continuous one since a plurality of slots placed at a suitable pitch may be made to serve the saine purpose. Furthermore, the novel socket parts and other structural detalls generally may be subjected to inodiiication without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention, heretofore described and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

Claims:

l. In a non-collapsiblc top structure for a vehicle body, a pair ot main standards mountedupon opposite 'sides of the 'bo-dy,

tive bracket plates, a jamb strip for each ol the complementary rails said strip being respectively disposed on sides opposite 'lo those stipulated for the bracket plates, separate fastening; means extending through each or said rails and their respective adjacent strip and bracket lepy nieinliiers, a bow receiving socket secured to cach bracket plate on the rail and standard side thereof, and a rear bow bridging said standards aiu having-i` the legs thereof mounted in said pair oit' sockets.

ln a non-collapsible top structure for a vehicle body, a pair ol' main standards mounted on opposite sides of tbe body, complementary side rails secured to tbc respective standards and extending` forwardly thereiroin over the body, a separate ja-mb strip Vfor each of said lside rails which strip is shaped to constitute a plurality of spaced ol'lset stake pocket portions while the remaining intermediate spacinpl portions ol the strip proper adjoin the side rail, and a transverse bow bridging the side rails provided with a bow clip extending` beyond each of the respective leg,` ends of said bow and engaging certain of said stake pockets,

said clips being disposed contiguous to the 3. In a iion-collapsible top structure adapted to mount a deck cover for a vehicle body, a pair of main standards mounted upon opposite sides ol' the body, complementary side rails secured to the respective standards and extending 'forwardly therefrom over the body .in a substantially horizontal pla-ne; a plurality of spaced transverse bows bridging the side rails, the respective leg ends of said bows being beveled and set substantially normal to the various slopes of the deck cover contour and at dif- 'lferent an ,gies with respect to the longitudinal top edge ot said side rails; a bow clip attached to each leg end oi the respective bows, said clips each having` a projecting` male member extending; beyond and normal to the beveled iace of said bow ends; a separate jamb strip for each of said side rails, each of said strips being` provided with a series of integral stake pockets all set perpendicular to the top edge of the side rails and adapted to engage the respective parallel male members of said bow clips.

4. In a non-collapsible top structure for a vehicle body, a pair oi main standards "inounted'upoii opposite'sdes ofthe body,

Elli

complementary side rails secured to the respective standards and extending tor.- wardly therefrom over and substantially parallel to the top edge or trim line ot the body, a separate amb strip fastened to each of said rails, said strip extending below its respective rail to constitute a depending abut-- ting face therefor and shaped to constitute a plurality of spaced offset stake pocket portions while `the remaining intermediate spacing portions of the strip proper adjoin the side rail, a transverse bow bridging the side rails provided with a bow clip extending beyond each ot the respective leg ends ot the bow and engaging certain ot said stake pockets, said clips being disposed contiguous to the respective side rails and enceinpassed by their respective oli'set pocket portions oli the jamb strips, and sectional side panels mounted between the rails and the trim line oi the body, the top sash edge ot said panels being set against said abutting face of the jamb strip.

5. In a non-collapsible top structure for a vehicle top, a pair of main standards mounted upon opposite sides of the body, an angular bracket plate for each of said standards said plate having one of its legs secured to its respective standard, a separate jamb strip adapted to be supported by each of the other legs of the respective bracket plates, a side rail extending forwardly over the body and secured to and tending beyond each of the respective leg ends ot said bow and adapted to engage with certain of said stake pockets.

6. In a non-collapsible top structure tor a vehicle top, a pair of main standards mounted upon opposite sides of the body, an angular bracket plate for each of said standards, said plate having one of its legs secured to its respective standard, a separate `iainb strip adapted to be supported by each of the other legs of the respective bracket plates and extending forwardly over the body, a side rail comprising a plurality of similar sections secured along each of said strips in an interposed relation with respect to the respective supporting legs, said sections abutting end to end and being connected in alignment by means of said strip, an offset stake pocket lor each of said strips, and a transverse bow having bow clips attached to the respective leg ends of said bow adapted to engage with said stake pocket-s.

In testimony whereof, I have herewith set my hand this fth day of February, 1924.

EARL H. WADSWORTH. 

